At one time or another, nearly every baby needs some form of diaper. These diapers become soiled and must be changed for a clean and dry diaper to avoid a risk of a rash or a disease. Changing a soiled diaper has generally been viewed as being an onerous task.
At one time, nearly all diapers were made of cloth due to the benefits associated with cloth. Such benefits include softness, comfort and aeration as well as other advantages. However, cloth diapers can cost as much as one dollar apiece, and thus each cloth diaper should be used several times before being discarded in order to justify such cost.
Heretofore, most cloth diapers were generally rectangular in peripheral shape and were somewhat awkward to put on a baby, especially if that baby were moving and squirming about. Furthermore, such cloth diapers tended to gap about the baby's legs, loosen in use and become unsightly even though they were only slightly soiled.
Thus, mainly for reasons of convenience, the cloth diaper was replaced by disposable diapers. A disposable diaper generally includes at least one layer of plastics-type material and one layer of moisture-absorbent material, as well as adhesive fastening elements.
Such diapers are simply disposed of when soiled, and thus avoid many of the problems associated with cloth diapers. Also, such disposable diapers are generally easier to change, even in public; whereas cloth diapers are not so convenient when viewed in this respect.
While having many convenient attributes, disposable diapers still have several drawbacks. For example, plastic and paper are not as comfortable to a baby as is cloth, especially cotton. Furthermore, disposable diapers are much more expensive than are cloth diapers. The quantity of cloth diapers purchasable for between one and two hundred dollars is generally sufficient to last completely through a baby's diaper years; whereas disposable diapers can cost upwards of twenty cents apiece, and may be wasted as the baby grows. The number of diapers used during a baby's diaper years may make twenty cents apiece a very large number.
Still further, while a disposable diaper is discarded and is completely useless after use, and is generally useless after a baby outgrows the diaper years, cloth diapers can be used for many other applications, including washing cars, dusting, packing and the like, and thus become even more economical with regard to disposable diapers when such additional uses are considered.
Still further, while a disposable diaper may be time saving by not requiring laundering, even including the cost of a diaper service, cloth diapers are much cheaper than disposable diapers.
However, by far the most important drawback to disposable diapers vis a vis cloth diapers is the non-degradable nature of the disposable diapers. Once used and discarded, the disposable diaper remains intact for years. Disposable diapers are around and are a problem long after the baby has outgrown the diapers. Many municipal trash disposal sites are in danger of being overrun by disposable diapers. Thus, disposable diapers may represent a threat the environment.
Therefore, there is a need for all cloth diaper which has the convenience, aesthetics and fit of a disposable diaper, yet will retain the advantages, cost-effectiveness and environmental neutrality of cloth diapers.